Paul Murphy
Dublin South-West · People Before Profit-Solidarity · Ireland
“The Minister of State assured us we are bound by international law but then went on to talk about the fact that he wants to deploy troops outside the framework of international law. That is why the Government is getting rid of the triple lock. All the triple lock does is ensure that we only can send troops in line with international law.”
“The case for MetroLink south west is extremely strong. There are 350,000 people living between the Luas red and green lines. That is who will be served by this.”
“Hopefully the junior Minister will be able to clarify. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, said earlier to Deputy Ó Laoghaire, "The people I speak to do not like the fact that Russia has essentially removed, or will remove in the coming months, all our peacekeeping troops from UNIFIL".”
“I, too, want to ask about the senior Minister. This came up at the Dáil reform committee last week. It is very peculiar that a senior Minister is here and has answered previous questions on the triple lock today and then – no offence meant - we have the junior Minister answering these questions, which precisely prevents the continuation o…”
“Its defence is that we should not worry because the Government is only going to send them as part of an international force. I do not think anyone here thinks the Government is going to invade a country all by itself.”
“It is there in black and white in the programme for Government and the Government needs to live up to its commitment to do a new, properly independent feasibility study. I appeal to the Minister of State to ask the Minister for Transport to meet with the metro south west group which has been doing such excellent campaigning on this issue.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,527 lines we hold for Paul Murphy, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 21 of 31.
“The Minister's bluster will not disguise what is a viciously anti-worker and anti-young person policy. The Minister is saying that 19-year-olds, 18-year-olds and 17-year-olds do not deserve to get the minimum wage - the inadequate minimum wage - in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. The Minister is saying that people who go to work and do the same work as the workers next door to them, who happen to be a little bit older, are not entitled to the minimum wage. Some 15,000 young people are affected by this. The Minister is telling them there is no chance of getting the minimum wage until 2029. That is scandalous. I will repeat the point. People who are 19 years of age cannot pay 90% of their rent. People who are 18 years of age cannot pay 80% of the grocery bill. People who are 17 years of age cannot pay 70% of the price of petrol.”
“Last September, the committee was told it would take six to nine months, but there is still no sign of the new economic impact report. The Government is kicking the can down the road. The Minister is now saying that this will now be changed in 2029, and will not even give a commitment to do it. A 19-year-old cannot pay 90% of their rent to their landlord. An 18-year-old cannot pay 80% of their grocery bill. A 17-year-old cannot pay 70% of the price of petrol. It is scandalous.”
“It is an over and back exchange. That is the nature of the format. The Minister said the rate would not be changed until 2029 or he would consider it at that stage. I ask him to clarify that. It is incredible. We introduced a Bill to get rid of this legalised superexploitation of young people in 2022, which was passed on Second Stage. It would have gotten rid of the rate in 2023, with a timed amendment. The Government said at the time that it had to wait for a report from the Low Pay Commission. The report came out in 2024 and was absolutely clear and unanimous that the Government should get rid of the superexploitation. At that stage, I remember at a committee meeting the Government said it would produce an economic impact report.”
“In the run-up to last year's general election, the Government promised to abolish subminimum wage rates for young workers. When will it do it? Will this turn into another broken promise to workers and young people, alongside a week's sick pay and the promise of a living wage?”
“This is who Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Lowry crew and the other right-wing Independents joining the clamour for a VAT cut represent. They all met with Adrian Cummins too and they do not care about child poverty either. Last week, we heard that the Government is planning not even to give minimum wage workers the measly 65 cent per hour increase recommended by the Low Pay Commission. It is nowhere near enough to cover the rising cost of living for minimum wage workers. The biggest chunk of minimum wage workers work in hospitality. Not only is the Government planning to screw those workers by keeping them on unlivably low wages, but it wants to give their bosses a massive tax cut as well. Where is the money going to go? Adrian Cummins says it is a matter for each business. Translation: it is going straight into their back pockets.”
“He has attended Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meetings and enterprise round tables. Adrian Cummins can pick up the phone and call the Government any time he wants. Can a parent struggling to put food on the table for their family do that? Can a child who is going to bed hungry? No. The Government has already worsened child poverty by delaying a living wage for low-paid workers by three years. It has refused to abolish sub-minimum wages for young workers despite being told to do so by the Low Pay Commission and the ESRI. It has a People Before Profit Private Members' Bill on Committee Stage right now that could end this age discrimination and impoverishment of young people at the stroke of a pen, but it refuses to do so because it always sides with the bosses over the workers.”
“That this is on the agenda for the budget is all purely down to the power of corporate lobbying. One of the greatest scams I have ever seen pulled in politics is to suggest that there is a massive crisis and that the answer is not targeted supports for small businesses, some of which are in crisis. No, it is a massive handout from the State, paid for by the public and by children in poverty, to some of the richest corporations in this country. Since January 2023, the CEO of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Adrian Cummins, has 59 entries in the lobbying register. He has met with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe. He has met with the Minister for public expenditure, Deputy Chambers, three times. He has met the Minister for enterprise, Deputy Peter Burke, twice. He has met the Taoiseach.”
“I have apologies from Deputy Coppinger. Our group will divide the time equally between the three of us. I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion. One thing it does very well is draw a straight line between handouts for big business and child poverty and homelessness. It is utterly scandalous that the Government is planning to hand over €675 million in unnecessary VAT cuts to hotels, restaurants and fast food chains when one in five children is living in poverty. Employment in hospitality is up 6.6% this year. There are 13,200 more people working in the sector than there were two years ago. Closures are down 10% year on year. According to the CSO, gross value added increased by 14% from 2022 to 2024. None of that suggests an industry in crisis that needs Government support.”
“Research will enable people to be less isolated in their own condition and enable them to see some light at the end of the tunnel to say, "Okay, this is what is likely to happen and this is the treatment and management that can be used to assist me." I appeal to the Minister of State, in the context of the budget discussions and so on, to ensure that the most possible is provided.”
“We can't tell him if his legs will just keep getting more tired and less able to support him. (This week he has started to fall like his legs have just started going from under him). Obviously, the Government has announced increased funding for rare disease initiatives, which is welcome. However, on the basis of the current funding the Government talks about nine rare diseases which are being screened for. Obviously, that is a drop in the ocean when we consider the over 8,000 rare diseases affecting 300,000 people in this country. Therefore, we need more funding for research, which is not going to come from the private sector.”
“I might just quote from Elizabeth who was in touch with me to let the Minister of State hear her voice. ... I would like you to explain to [the Minister] Leo's everyday struggles (he has autism, a heart murmur, a learning disability, and muscle weakness) these are all due to his ocnds [Okur-Chung neurodevelopmental syndrome] diagnosis I would like you to explain that though deteriorating isn't a noted symptom this is likely due to the lack of research on the small numbers of 300 people worldwide! That I've spoken to other mothers and they are noticing the same deteriorating! One of those mothers is also from Ireland and her son is now in a wheelchair. That we need research on this condition to know what the future holds for our son, having no answers as parents is hard enough without having no answers to give him!”
“Instead, we need a people-first approach to researching rare diseases with more appropriate funding for other research into this condition among others so that we can better characterise other features of Okur-Chung in order that individuals and their families can better understand their situation and plan for their lives ahead.”
“We know that some of the common symptoms of Okur-Chung are well characterised and can even be treated, but other features of the condition are less well understood and at present there are no treatment or management plans. There is a fundamental gap in the scientific literature on Okur-Chung as with many other rare diseases, which can only be addressed by funding from the State for fundamental research projects into human development in general and particular rare conditions such as Okur-Chung. There is not a sufficient market here to invite in the pharmaceutical companies on a profit basis; it is too niche to be worth the investment.”
“With luck, researchers might be able to uncover new approaches to the treatment and management of the condition. This came to my attention because of a case in my constituency. The mother of a young boy, Leo, came to me. He suffers from Okur-Chung syndrome which has caused him a number of challenges, such as learning disabilities, speech delay, a heart murmur and underdeveloped muscles which only allow him to walk for five to ten minutes at a time. He requires help when using the bathroom. He is also at risk of developing scoliosis. He has hearing difficulties and other conditions. His mother is concerned that her son's health will deteriorate further. The worst part is that she simply does not know due to the lack of research into rare diseases like this. His doctor did not even know about the disease until it was diagnosed.”
“It is likely that there are more cases that have not been accurately diagnosed as yet. We have seen that to be the case with other rare diseases with initiatives such as the 100,000 Genomes Project helping to identify a number of previously unidentified cases in the UK. Between the difficulty in diagnosing cases of Okur-Chung and the wide range of symptoms associated with the condition, what parents of children affected by Okur-Chung and patients both need is more research and more information. Many more cases of Okur-Chung and other rare genetic conditions could be identified with more funding for research projects based on whole-genome sequencing along the lines of the 100,000 Genomes Project. With more cases to observe, clinicians could offer better advice and more certainty to parents.”
“I wish to raise the issue of funding for rare diseases. Rare diseases are not all that rare, given that 300,000 people are affected by one rare disease or another in Ireland, involving over 8,000 different diseases. While each individual disease is very rare, as a total they are quite common and have a big impact on people's lives. Often they suffer from a lack of research into their condition which then impacts treatment and the assistance they are able to get. I want in particular to raise Okur-Chung neurodevelopmental syndrome, which is a rare disease that causes gene deletion. It is associated with a range of clinical features but especially developmental delay affecting language and motor skills. In the data only 300 cases have been identified worldwide with seven people in Ireland affected.”
“I seek confirmation from the Government that it agreed to have statements next week on Gaza. I think we do have that confirmation. We might get an initial response. Micheál Martin made a significant statement at the UN yesterday opposing the right of Palestinians to self-determination. Is that now the position of the Government?”
“Countries always dress it up as peacekeeping. The top civil servant in the Tánaiste's Department admitted to me at a committee meeting that if it were not for the triple lock, Irish troops could have been sent to participate in the invasion of Iraq. The Tánaiste's political commitment that we will only send troops on peacekeeping missions is not worth anything under this Government. The Government will be gone at a certain point and we will have new governments. If we get rid of the triple lock, there will be no legal requirement that we will be within the framework of international law.”
“We are getting somewhere here. The Tánaiste accepted that the point of getting rid of the triple lock is to be able to send troops outside of the framework of the UN Charter - not just outside the principles but outside the articles of the UN Charter, which govern international law in respect of where troops can be sent abroad. That is the reason to get rid of the triple lock. The Tánaiste may say that we are only ever going to send troops on missions that are called peacekeeping missions. Does he know what Putin called his invasion of Ukraine? He said it was a peacekeeping mission. When the US led the invasion of Iraq, it was for humanitarian and democratic reasons. When the US invaded Afghanistan, it was the same. These days, no country ever says it is doing something for its own imperialist interests.”
“That is not accidental because he is talking about the vague, broad principles in Article 2 of the UN Charter in contrast to giving a commitment to stay within the articles of the UN Charter, which are exactly the same as the triple lock.”
“For example, in the context of Ukraine, the Tánaiste said we will send troops to Ukraine but only in the context of a peacekeeping agreement. Is that a UN-endorsed peacekeeping agreement? In that case it would meet the requirements of the triple lock. However, if it is not, in which case presumably it is not a peacekeeping agreement when one of the warring parties, Russia, the invader, is clearly still at war, then we are sending troops to participate in a conflict. Is this why the Tánaiste in his answer regarding the heads of the Bill referred to maintaining the principles of the UN Charter?”
“In answer to Deputy Clendennen's question, there is a cynical campaign of misinformation. It is coming from the Government. It is suggesting that we are going to get rid of the triple lock but there is no need to worry because we are going to stay within the framework of the UN Charter. That is not honest, unless the Tánaiste does not understand the UN Charter. There are two circumstances under the charter whereby a country can legally, under international law, send troops abroad: the first is self-defence, which is not covered by the triple lock, and the second is where it is authorised by the UN Security Council. That is literally what Article 53 states. When the Tánaiste said we are going to get rid of the triple lock but do not worry because we will stay in the UN Charter, it does not make any sense.”
“I will bluntly ask this question of the Tánaiste. Where does he want to send troops that he cannot currently send them under the triple lock? Does he agree with the Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, and the call of the so-called coalition of the willing, where he is willing to send Irish troops on the ground, presumably without an agreed UN peacekeeping mission? Otherwise, that would meet the requirements of the triple lock. Where does the Tánaiste want to send troops that he cannot currently send them?”
“It could fast-track training and upskilling of special education teachers. It could engage in a genuine way with the parents, who are telling us the true story from the ground and who are the real experts on this.”
“Of them, 42 are at home with no home tuition and no preschool. We need an end to the spin. Give us the honest figures so we can see just how many children are left without appropriate places. The Government likes to say it is doing everything it can. The last issue I raised with the Taoiseach before the summer recess was this. He told me they were going to work might and main to make sure every child has an appropriate school place by September, but is that true? I am not talking about the personal effort of the Minister of State. I accept that. However, there are different decisions the Government could make. It could double capital funding for the school building programme. It could lift the ridiculous SNA cap and immediately begin a mass SNA recruitment campaign.”
“The Government is now saying all bar a small handful, but the Minister of State and everyone here knows that it is playing with words. Thanks to the amazing activist parents in the Equality in Education campaign we know that for 206 children, at least, being placed for this school year in reality means being offered a place that does not physically exist either because it has not been built yet or has not been staffed yet. The Minister of State had a great euphemism earlier talking about how for some children, there is a delay to the start of their school year due to construction work. A delay for some until November and for others until March or April. At what point does an education delayed equal an education denied for these children? On top of that, there are 96 children who have no offer whatsoever.”
“What we have had tonight from the Government is a display of gaslighting par excellence . It is incredible and really cynical, because the audience is not the children who are affected. It is not the parents in the Gallery because the Minister of State knows they know that a school place does not necessarily equal a school place. The audience is the public who are concerned and think it is horrifying that there are children with additional needs who do not have appropriate school places. The message to them is not to worry, all bar a small handful of children in Dublin have been placed for this school year, when the truth is it appears the problem is even worse this year than last year. We had a motion in the Dáil this time last year, which referred to 120 children then without an appropriate school place.”
“Earlier this week, a school principal said there are huge gaps and holes in the system and that no one is looking for children who are not turning up to school, which is incredible. What will be done to ensure we stop failing children in this way?”
“The discussion about the State failing children will dominate the coming Dáil term but there is no greater failure than the State losing track of and failing children who it is meant to be taking care of. Just a couple of hours ago, we heard that the body of Daniel Aruebose has been found. We know he went missing four years ago, when he was just three years old. He would have been seven now. Incredibly, when reading the story, it appears the State became aware he was missing because of checks carried out on social welfare payments. What does it say about the nature of the State that better track is being kept of social welfare payments than vulnerable children? Tragically, Daniel is far from the only child to fall through the cracks. Kyran Durnin has still not been found. In 2023, 29 young people known to Tusla died.”
“According to the latest figures, in quarter 2 of 2024, 349 families were prevented from entering homelessness as a result of the tenant in situ scheme and in quarter 2 of 2025, that was down to 122. Will the Taoiseach take emergency action, reinstate the eviction ban, and reimplement the tenant in situ scheme and properly fund it?”
“Since the Government lifted the eviction ban in April 2023, more than 20,000 households have got eviction notices because their landlord wants to sell. At the time, the Government promised renters that they would be protected with the tenant in situ scheme. If they were on HAP or RAS and their landlord was willing to sell to the council, the council would buy their home. That has turned out to be a lie. Just over 2,500 households benefited from the scheme before the Government gutted it less than two years after it started. The results are seen in the homelessness figures - a massive rise from 12,000 in March 2023 to over 16,000 today, including over 5,000 children.”
“The Global Sumud Flotilla is an attempt to do that and to open a people's humanitarian corridor to Gaza. There are over 20 Irish citizens on board at the moment and yet the Government said nothing when there were two drone attacks on boats in that flotilla. Will the Taoiseach send a legal observer, not to participate in the flotilla, but to observe it and provide some security for those Irish citizens and others?”
“A UN commission has now found that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, which was obvious to anyone with eyes to see over the course of the last almost two years. At the moment, the so-called ground offensive into Gaza city is continuing. It means the murder of men, women and children. This Government has thankfully recognised the genocide in words, but it has failed to act like there is a genocide. It continues to hear no evil and see no evil when it comes to the thousands of tonnes of munitions illegally going through our airspace on the way to Israel, and it continues to try to water down the occupied territories Bill. Due to the failure of western governments and the complicity of many, it is people themselves who are taking matters into their own hands.”
“Thousands of people came out onto the streets in August to demand justice for Harvey. They did so because they saw a young boy who was failed so horribly by the State. They did so because they saw the broken promises from Simon Harris, who made the promise in 2017 about no child having to wait longer than four months. They did so because they appalled at the failure of Simon Harris to meet the family after giving a commitment to do so. They also did so because Harvey symbolised the failure of this State in respect of so many children. Can we have a debate about that failure and about the failures of CHI in particular this week?”
“Did the Tánaiste raise this case and the treatment of an Irish citizen with the US ambassador when he met him earlier this week?”
“I join in the thanks to the many workers who make this place tick. I raise the case of the 35-year-old Irish father of three who was held by the US authorities for 100 days. He overstayed his ESTA visa by three days because of a medical condition. He was then taken by ICE and held for two months before being transferred into the regular prison system. The story is horrendous and horrifying. He was freezing on many occasions and only had a thin blanket. He was hungry and the food was of a very poor quality. The mattress was dirty and there were cockroaches and mice. He mentioned a pair of used, ripped underwear, with brown stains and jumpsuits with bloodstains and holes in them. This gives a glimpse of the horror that ICE means for so many people being deported or who face the threat of deportation from America.”
“The Taoiseach might expand on that because the parents I am talking to have to leave their kids in preschool, if the preschool will allow them to do that. In some cases, that is going to be a real problem. In other cases, they are going to have to stay at home - some will not be able to do college courses they were planning to do - in order to mind their children. Can the Taoiseach tell us how many children are going to be left without appropriate school places? Is the number to whom no offer has been made still 260?”
“I appreciate that huge efforts have been made by those in the NCSE, people working in schools and, above all, parents. However, what is happening is not acceptable. This is the last Leaders' Questions the Taoiseach is going to face. He cannot back up the commitment by the Minister for education that every child needing special education will have a place come September. He is sending out the message that we have made a huge effort but, unfortunately, some children will be left behind. The Taoiseach mentioned that for those who have been offered school places perhaps in October, November or December, temporary solutions will be put in place. Will he expand on that? None of the parents know about these temporary-----”
“How many of the 3,000 children to whom I refer will not have places in September? How long will they have to wait? How have the classrooms not been put in place? How many will have to travel outside their local areas? Will all 3,000 get the appropriate supports they need? Some of them have been allocated places by the NCSE, which has instructed schools to expand special classes. They are being promised that additional special needs assistant, SNA, supports will be provided. Will they? The additional 1,600 SNAs announced by the Government have already been allocated. The Government is operating an irrational cap on SNA posts.”
“However, those 260 are only the tip of the iceberg. Many of the 3,000 or so who have offers do not actually have school places for September. They have a pathway to school places. In many places, it is a pathway to a classroom that does not yet exist. Teddy will be five years and nine months old in September. After much struggle, his mother, Adrienne, got a call from the school secretary in St. Canice's in Finglas two weeks ago offering him a place. She was told that the place is subject to a building project. She asked for a timeline on the availability of the place and was told that the school is in discussions. She is not holding her breath in terms of the place being available before Christmas. Lucy, who is five, was offered a place but her mother, who is in the Gallery, was told it will not be available until November.”
“They organised an impressive march a few weeks ago and put this issue of the incredible injustice of children having their basic right to an education denied. Their core asks are very simple, namely that every child should have an appropriate school place in their local community, that children are not left at home without school places, that parents are not pressured into taking inappropriate mainstream places where their children will not be supported and that children will not be ferried across or out of their counties on a daily basis. We know that 3,275 children with additional needs were notified to the National Council for Special Education, NCSE. The Minister has indicated that 92% of those have an offer of a school place or a pathway to a school place. That means 260 children were without any offer.”
“It is the final week of Dáil sittings before the summer recess. When we return, the schools will already have started. The Minister for education previously stated that it was her intention that every child needing special education would have a place come September. Will that commitment be met or will children be left without appropriate school places? Over the course of the past year, parents of children with additional needs have done incredible campaigning work. Mothers such as those from the Equality in Education campaign who are in the Gallery, have organised public meetings throughout the country. They slept out on two occasions - once outside the Dáil and once outside the Department of education.”
“The right-wing argument that free healthcare will encourage overuse is even more wrong for dentistry than for other forms of healthcare. Free dental care - free healthcare - would encourage people to go early to ensure prevention rather than seeking a cure later. We know that prevention is always better than cure. Even from the point of view of cents and euros, it makes sense. Regular, free dental examinations, with treatment from an early age preventing more serious problems later, make obvious good sense. The only argument against it is an ideological preference for privatisation and private profit. For Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, these will always take precedence over public health. We need a renewed mass movement for universal free public healthcare, including free oral healthcare.”
“In addition, inflexible working conditions force dentists to either go into private practice or emigrate. We still do not have any dental therapists. A dental therapist qualification is midway between those of dentist and dental hygienist. Dental therapists exist in many other countries and could help fill in the gaps here. The solution is to fund public dental services properly and to train and recruit hundreds of new public dentists and dental therapists. Public dental care should be available to all, free of charge, as part of a universal single-tier national health service. There should be no limits on care as proposed under Sláintecare, which has still not been implemented. No one is going to the dentist for the craic, obviously.”
“Kids have to wait to be seen and are then forced to go private, if their parents can afford to do so. In many cases, parents get loans in order to go private. The cause of all this unnecessary suffering is deliberate underfunding and understaffing of our public dental service by successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments. They have pursued a policy of privatisation by stealth. Public dental care in this country was never great, but it was decimated after the financial crash as a result of austerity cuts. That policy of starving the public system of resources continues today through the HSE pay and numbers strategy, which guarantees that there are never enough dental workers to staff the system properly. There are also nowhere near enough dental training places.”
“If the family waits for this, their daughter will most likely need more intensive treatment and other treatments that would not be needed if she was seen when required. The mother tells me the HSE is currently only seeing kids for dental problems that are causing pain, so basically when it is too late. She says that all the waiting times are very frightening and the kids have been failed so badly right now, and that she just has to stand back and watch her daughter be failed in the context of multiple issues. She finds it absolutely heartbreaking that she cannot do anything else to help her. If this is not a common story, elements of it are definitely things I hear again and again. I refer, for example, to the complaint that people do not get prioritised in the public system until they are experiencing pain, that is, when it is too late.”
“Public dental care is extremely limited. There are long waiting lists. Fewer private dentists accept medical cards. Children are meant to be seen in first or second class but often this does not happen until secondary school. A mother of a child with additional needs recently contacted me in relation to this. She says they are currently paying a private orthodontist to help with their daughter's teeth because she urgently needs early intervention treatment and they cannot wait for the HSE. When the mother called the HSE, she was told that it could not help and that the child would not be seen in sixth class because the backlog is so big. She was also told that it would wait to see her for the first time in second year, most likely.”
“I thank Deputy Stanley for bringing forward this motion. It is striking that oral health is not much discussed in this House. This reflects a neglect that exists within our State whereby we know that oral health is so important for overall health and well-being but it is neglected and seriously under-resourced in our public health system. If your teeth and gums are healthy, you are less likely to suffer from heart disease, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. Dental care is a key part of preventative healthcare that can keep everyone healthier for longer and lower costs for the HSE. At least it should be. Unfortunately, in Ireland it has been treated as a luxury only accessible to those with the ability to pay to see a private dentist. Scandalously, that goes for children as well as adults.”
“They continue: The Commission may make such findings and further recommendations arising out of its investigation relating to the handling of ... child sexual abuse, and child protection ... In its recommendations, the Commission may also have regard to the work of the Survivor Engagement Programme. I am concerned about the separation of the survivor testimony, which needs to be core to the work of the commission.”
“It knew about it but prioritised protecting the reputation and wealth of the church over the needs of the children in its care. The truth is that the State, in thrall to the church, did exactly the same. Very quickly on the issues, there needs to be redress. Redress cannot be kicked further down the road. The State needs to pay redress now and then pursue the church and religious orders in a full way, including seizing assets, in order to compensate for that. The survivors must receive redress immediately. There cannot be any more delays. I am concerned with how the terms of reference for the commission refer to the evidence. They state the commission "shall exercise its discretion in relation to the extent of the evidence that it considers ...".”